4/11/25 - Friday Video Share: Survivor 48 - Jeff Probst Gets Emotional as Eva Opens Up
I was feeling crummy yesterday, which is why there wasn't a Thursday newsletter. The Friday video for this week is a little different ...
Survivor 48 - Jeff Probst Gets Emotional as Eva Opens Up
SurvivorOnCBS - March 26, 2025
Is this good, actually? Is it just inspirational? Or is there something more substantive and genuinely positive going on here?
I think basically yes. What we seem to be seeing is a segment of a competitive reality show that becomes a bit of a teaching moment about autism. What I find most interesting about it is that it is mixture of some traditional approaches to autism – like the "so many treatments" Eva says her parents put her through – and a more modern view of autism – as something that is an important part of her and not a bad thing. I suspect that many, if not most autistic people operate with this kind of mix of approaches, as do people with other kinds of disabilities.
Of course the core of it all is when one of Eva's competitors sees what she needs in a moment of extreme stress, and helps her out in a way that Eva has presumably taught him. I'm not a Survivor fan, so I don't fully understand how exactly his helping Eva is some kind of exception to the rules. But the scene does demonstrate one very specific part of life with any kind of disability – the importance of having someone near us who understands our disability in a little more detail, so they can help properly when we need it.
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